Different Paths, Chapter One
by RB Cherub
Summary: Recovering from a near-death experience at the hands of the Cybermen, Adric begins a more active relationship with Nyssa.


Different Paths

Chapter One

Adric readjusted the collar on his new jacket. Well, it wasn't a _new_ jacket; he had no idea how long it could have been languishing in the wardrobe room before he found it. But he had gotten quite comfortable with it, and the trousers, shirt and shoes he had picked out to go with it. Not having that star pinned to his chest all day helped. His chest didn't itch any more. He wondered why it had taken him so long to finally get rid of that outfit. As he had held it up to the light to repair it, for what had to have been the half-dozenth time, he suddenly asked himself why he was still wearing it.

After spending half an hour in the TARDIS' extensive wardrobe, Adric was now in the Console Room helping the Doctor. He had barely noticed Adric's new attire, although, Adric thought, based on what he himself wore on an everyday basis, the Doctor had little time to dwell on fashion. At the moment he was knelt down under one side of the console, tending to the biaxial flange-sproogolators. That particular section of the machinery seemed to take on a new name faster than the Doctor put on a new face. Bored out of his mind, he tried not to think about her. But that had gotten a lot harder of late,

'You know, Adric.' The Doctor began, the slightest strain in his voice. 'Since that business with the Cybermen, you've almost become a different person.

'Hmm.' Adric lightly nodded. It had been almost a week- by Tegan's muddled timeframe- since he had stared mortified at that control panel, that final Cyberman falling to the deck and oozing who-knew-what. 'Well, I don't have to tell you how a brush with death can change a man.'

'Hardly.' The Doctor got up and tapped a few controls, and then resorted to what he fondly called "The Andropov Manoeuvre", i.e., hit it until it works. The manoeuvre proved successful, and the Doctor spent a good five minutes afterwards rubbing his aching hand and trying not to show how much pain he was in.

'Where are they both? We're almost there!' The Doctor went to the door and peered out, down the corridor leading to the labyrinthine and possibly infinite reaches of the TARDIS' interior.

'Almost where, Doctor?' Adric peered at the readout, and made a high-pitched sound of curiosity.

Nyssa lay on her bed, alone in her room, crying and holding onto a stuffed animal she had gotten fond of during her travels. Clutching it to her breast, she sobbed and sighed into its fur, whilst thanking whatever higher power had brought him back to her.

It was only in the cold, terrible moment after they saw the explosion on the monitor that she realized how deeply she really loved him.

Nyssa recalled the aftermath of the destruction. The Doctor was already steering the TARDIS away, as far away though space and time as he could get. She and Tegan had both shouted, screamed and pleaded for him to act, but it took the act of another to save him. The Doctor could not recognize the ship, or comprehend how it was able to match their every erratic movement through the vortex. It had come alongside, there had been a blinding flash, and they had all fallen. And when she had opened her eyes, he had been looking worriedly down at her, asking her if she was alright.

'Nyssa?' Tegan called from outside, knocking on the door. 'Nyssa, are you okay? We're about to land, apparently. Nyssa?'

'I'm fine.' Nyssa called, having spend a moment to find her voice. 'I'll be out in a few minutes.'

'I am sorry about the star.' The Doctor had gathered what remained of it, locked it away in tribute to him. Adric shook his head

'Don't worry about it.' He looked toward the door when he heard voices and footsteps. The far door opened and out into the Console Room stepped Tegan, dressed apparently for a long hike, and Nyssa, who wore an outfit that suited her perfectly; functional and comfortable, but evocative of her figure at the same time.

'Wow, Adric.' Tegan blinked, looking him over. 'Nice duds.'

'Thank you. I think.'

Nyssa said nothing, and barely looked at him.

The Doctor opened the door, and they all filed out of the TARDIS, each carrying part of the picnic. Locking the Police Box façade behind them, they stepped out onto a lush green field, a clearing in a vivid green and crimson forest, the sky tainted a slight shade of red. Amid the unspoiled natural beauty, the TARDIS stood out like a siren, a drably dark blue blot on a pure green canvas.

Walking through the trees, the Doctor and Tegan went on ahead. The Doctor wanted to give them time alone, and Tegan didn't want to get in the way.

As soon as he was sure that neither of them could hear him, the Doctor muttered

'Something's wrong. Something just doesn't feel right.'

'How so? You said this place was about the calmest in this galaxy.'

'It's not that.' The Doctor shook his head. 'Something's wrong with _time._'

Tegan looked at him, worried and confused. He went on:

'I'm a Time Lord.'

'You don't say.' The Doctor's glare kept her quiet.

'Tegan, my people have this… ability. Some call it a blessing, some a curse. It's like a seventh sense, a… an intuition, that dictates what cannot, should not happen. And I've this awful feeling ever since Adric was rescued.'

'What? You mean that Adric _should_ have died, and that he _should_ be dead.'

'No! I would never say that. _Ever_!' he surprised them both with the volume and anger in his voice. 'I just wish I could shake this feeling.'

Tegan glanced back over her shoulder, wondering whether they had heard them. She smiled when she saw their hands entwined, with her head on his shoulder. Turning back, she stumbled, feeling her head. The Doctor was at her side to catch her, but she regained her footing and walked on. 'I'm okay.' She said, absently rubbing her arms.

Sitting on a hillside, looking out over a beautiful ruined city, The Doctor and his companions sat and talked. The Doctor told them all about the civilization that had lived there, and they all tried to keep up, but were too tired from their walk and the food to pay much attention.

'Why don't we go there? I mean, back then.' Tegan asked, and the Doctor rapidly shook his head, his light-coloured flopping vigorously.

'No, best not. I didn't exactly endear myself to them the last time.'

'How do you mean?'

'Well, you see the large dome over there?' he pointed, and Tegan followed the line of his finger and nodded. 'That large hole?'

'You did that?'

'I didn't _plan_ to.' The Doctor lowered his head guiltily. 'And I did pay for the repair work. I guess they just didn't get around to it.'

Shaking her head, Tegan looked round at Nyssa and Adric. They weren't there.

They had managed to sneak away while the Doctor was rambling, and had walked together over the top of the hill, and had found a comfortable little spot to sit and talk. Not that either of them could adequately express what they were feeling. After a few clumsy attempts, Nyssa had adopted one of Tegan's more blasé phrases,

'_Oh, bugger it all,_' and had launched herself on Adric.

Adric's hands felt down the curves of her body, while hers traced the lines of his chin and the faint stubble which never seemed to grow. His hand found its way under her top, and his fingers came across her back, causing her to moan into his mouth.

Eventually, they both agreed it was time to find the others. Coming back over the crest of the hill, they heard the Doctor's voice, calling to them. The pitch of his voice made them both suddenly worried, and they sped up, breaking into a run when they saw them both.

The Doctor tried to find a pulse, and when he did it was erratic and weak. Tegan lay on the grass, shaking uncontrollably. He had already wrapped her in his jacket, but that had not helped. Feeling her wrist again, something caught his eye, and he pushed up her sleeve. The snake writhed on her arm, a malevolent illustration of purest malice.

'What happened?' Adric dropped to his knees, skidding on the grass and stopping right beside her. Nyssa dropped down behind Tegan's head, the better to support it. As she reached to check Tegan's neck, she suddenly realised that the Doctor had lodged a cricket bail between her teeth, to prevent her from swallowing her own tongue.

The Doctor got to his feet. 'Stay here, I'll bring the TARDIS to you.' He set off at a sprint, his plimsolls slipping on the grass once or twice. As soon as he was out of sight, a familiar sound echoed in the air around them, and the Police Box appeared before them. The door opened, and a flustered-looking Doctor appeared, ushering them in urgently.

As soon as the door was closed, the TARDIS lurched to one side, then to the other, and the time rotor began is rhythmic pulsing. They were in transit.

'What?' The Doctor looked up at the rotor from Tegan's side, tearing the stethoscope away from his ears. 'Wh…what?!' he repeated, his voice rising in pitch again.

This really wasn't cricket. First Tegan, then a run-in with _himself_ and narrowly avoiding a Belgium-sized catastrophe, and now _this?!_

In a fraction of a second, he weighed the argument. Tegan could be dying, and he had to help. But if the TARDIS was in transit, and he wasn't there to guide her, they could end up back at Event One all over again. He shot to his feet and ran round the console, tapping, checking and thumping controls and panels, while Nyssa exercised what she knew of human physiology to try and help Tegan. Adric felt pathetic and useless.

'What can I do?' he asked, not caring who answered.

The Doctor jabbed his finger at a control panel on the far side of the console. 'Whenever that green light turns chartreuse, type in a happy prime. Don't ask why, just do it.'

Nodding, Adric ran around the console, gripping it when the timeship lurched again.

Between them, the Doctor and Adric were ale to keep the TARDIS on a relatively even keel, and finally, with one last _thump_, the time rotor stopped, and the silence was almost malleable. It was broken when Tegan gasped for breath, bolting upright. The wooden bail flew for her mouth and rattled across the Console Room. Gasping and spiting, Tegan sat, held by Nyssa and drenched in cold sweat.

'What the hell happened? Where… where are we?'

Nyssa did her best to calm and comfort her, and Adric knelt down on her other side to hlp as well.

'Where are we?' Nyssa repeated the question, concerned at the Doctor's silence.

The Doctor checked the readout one more time, just to be sure, before he answered.

'We appear to be on Manussa.' He said.


End file.
